Movie Review: Easy A

Story by Greg Bright 

| Published Sep 20, 2010

Generic high school film. That’s the phrase that came to mind as I sat down to watch this film. In many ways, that’s exactly what it is. Girl feels lonely and out of place in high school. Girl does something that makes her more popular. Girl feels bad about said something. Girl gets outrageously hot guy. However, this one is a little bit better than just a generic high school film — it at least acknowledges its own generic plot. Credit can be given to screenwriter Bert V. Royal, who comes up with some pretty great one-liners (Huck Finn references were my favorite). The film also boasts a stand-out performance from Emma Stone, who may just be the future of female comedy in Hollywood. Unfortunately, the film falls flat in the second half as the producers gloss over any idea that has even a small amount of substance.

Stone’s stand-out performance as Olive, sadly, cannot be matched by most of the other actors in the film. Notable exceptions include her parents (Patricia Clarkson and Stanley Tucci), who provide constant laughs throughout the film and her first “client” Bradley (Dan Byrd). Olive and Bradley’s “sex scene” may very well be worth the price of a matinee ticket, or at least merit a Youtube viewing — funny as hell. The other actors just can’t seem to ever get comfortable in their roles. Amanda Bynes is stoic and boring as the overzealous Christain. Bynes isn’t used to playing the villain and it shows. Thomas Haden Church could have been great but he’s not given the screen time and Penn Badgley is there just to look hot (and he succeeds).

I really would have loved to see an early draft of this screenplay because the film gets really close to touching on some really tough high school issues, such as how finding out you’ve had sex affects girls as compared to boys, or how alienating it can feel to be in high school. The film decides to keep it light and fluffy, however, and just skips over anything that could be complex or mature, which is sad for this reviewer, but probably a good move money wise.